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aturnergal's review
4.0
Miguel Lopez de Leon crafts a tantalizing blend of science fiction and fantasy in “Blue Cloak Warrior”. Each realm in the land of Merr has a representative in The Five, a council that governs the entire land. Protagonist Caspian Wells has recently been nominated to replace the deceased leader of his land of Ele. Widely acknowledged as the best water elemental, a magical person who controls a specific element, his skills would be invaluable on the council. But before he can claim his place, he must undergo a trial in each of the other four realms. Can he succeed? You’ll have to read on to find out.
I thought this was overall a very imaginative and creative plot with some interesting twists and turns. The world is well-described and crafted with enough character to differentiate each land from the other. However, I found character development rather lacking. Cas, for instance, comes across as a competent, moral protagonist, but I don’t really feel he undertakes a journey that changes who he is at the core. Yes, he goes through struggles, but he emerges at the end little changed from himself at the beginning. Despite this, I did enjoy this novel.
I thought this was overall a very imaginative and creative plot with some interesting twists and turns. The world is well-described and crafted with enough character to differentiate each land from the other. However, I found character development rather lacking. Cas, for instance, comes across as a competent, moral protagonist, but I don’t really feel he undertakes a journey that changes who he is at the core. Yes, he goes through struggles, but he emerges at the end little changed from himself at the beginning. Despite this, I did enjoy this novel.
hooksbookswanderlust's review
3.0
A nice, easy read, nothing complex or convoluted. This is marketed as YA Fantasy, but personally is probably more on the level of middle grade readers. I could see my 10-year-old reading it. The characters are pretty basic and not really developed, but the world building was pretty spectacular. Very imaginative. The story was repetitive: arrive to a new realm, check out the room and welcome basket, banquet, quest, repeat. Even the dialogue was repetitive. That said, the MC is always extremely polite and the message of the story is good: that kindness, empathy, and respect will get you fat and with hard work will help you achieve your dreams. I will say I was a bit disappointed there wasn’t more to the story and it waited until the final few chapters to get really interesting, and it felt a little too easy to me, almost indulgent. Still, like I said, I could see this being an enjoyable read for middle grade readers, if a bit wordy.
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